Communication apparatus with ambient noise reduction

ABSTRACT

A host device configured to be wirelessly coupled to an accessory device, the host device comprising noise reduction circuitry, wherein, in use of the host device: a signal generated by a microphone of the accessory device in response to ambient noise is supplied to the noise reduction circuitry; the noise reduction circuitry applies a noise reduction transfer function to the signal supplied thereto to generate a noise cancellation signal; and the noise cancellation signal is supplied to at least one loudspeaker of the accessory device; and wherein the noise reduction transfer function applied by the noise reduction circuitry is user selectable or user adjustable.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuation of Ser. No. 16/950,318, filed Nov. 17, 2020,which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/897,466, filedJun. 10, 2020, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,950,215, which is a continuation ofU.S. application Ser. No. 16/583,882, filed Sep. 26, 2019, now U.S. Pat.No. 10,685,636, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/601,854, filed Jan. 21, 2015, now abandoned, which is a continuationof U.S. application Ser. No. 12/599,026, filed Nov. 5, 2009, now U.S.Pat. No. 8,953,814, which is a 371 of International Application No.PCT/GB08/01601, filed May 8, 2008, which claims priority to UKApplication No. 0708860.2, filed May 9, 2007, the entire disclosures ofwhich are incorporated by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to ambient noise-reduction systems forcommunications apparatus such as cellular phone handsets, walkie-talkiesor the like, and it relates more especially to systems for handsets thatare capable of being used both with and without listening devices suchas earphones, headphones or headsets. That is, the user of the apparatusmay choose, at any given time, to listen directly to the internalloudspeaker provided in the apparatus, or to listen using a wired orwireless listening device connected temporarily to the handset.

It has been proposed to provide ambient noise reduction in a cellularphone handset, by providing a signal processing device that receives asignal derived from detected ambient noise, and generates a sound thattends to cancel the effect of the ambient noise at the ear of the user.

It has now been recognized that, if ambient noise reduction is to beprovided in a communications apparatus that can be listed to eitherdirectly by means of an internal loudspeaker or by means of a separatelistening device, the ambient noise reduction must take account of thefact that the use of the separate listening device changes the soundenvironment, in terms both of the degree of exposure to ambient noiseand of the noise-sensing and signal-processing approaches needed toreduce the ambient noise as perceived by the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is providednoise reduction circuitry, comprising:

a first input, for receiving signals from at least one first microphone;

a second input, for receiving signals from at least one secondmicrophone; and

means for determining whether a second microphone is connected to thesecond input;

wherein the noise reduction circuitry is adapted to generate a noisecancellation signal by applying a first transfer function to the signalsreceived from the first microphone when it is determined that no secondmicrophone is connected to the second input;

and is adapted to generate a noise cancellation signal by applying asecond transfer function to the signals received from the secondmicrophone when it is determined that a second microphone is connectedto the second input, wherein the second transfer function is differentfrom the first transfer function.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provideda communications apparatus, comprising:

at least one internal microphone, for detecting ambient noise around theapparatus;

an internal speaker, for generating a sound signal to be heard by a userof the apparatus;

means for receiving a listening device, the listening device comprisinga listening device speaker and a listening device microphone, fordetecting ambient noise around the listening device;

means for determining whether a listening device is connected to theapparatus; and

noise reduction circuitry, wherein the noise reduction circuitrycomprises:

a first input, for receiving signals from the or each internalmicrophone;

a second input, for receiving signals from the listening devicemicrophone; and

means for receiving a signal from the means for determining whetherlistening device is connected to the apparatus;

wherein the noise reduction circuitry is adapted to generate a noisecancellation signal by applying a first transfer function to the signalsreceived from the internal microphone, and to apply the noisecancellation signal to the internal speaker, when it is determined thatno listening device is connected to the apparatus;

and is adapted to generate a noise cancellation signal by applying asecond transfer function to the signals received from the listeningdevice microphone and to apply the noise cancellation signal to thelistening device speaker, when it is determined that a listening deviceis connected to the apparatus, wherein the second transfer function isdifferent from the first transfer function.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provideda listening device, comprising means for identifying the listeningdevice to a distinguishing device provided on a communicationsapparatus.

Thus, one embodiment of the invention can provide a cellular telephonehandset provided with a loudspeaker means mounted internally thereof andfurther comprising an ambient noise-reduction system; wherein the saidsystem comprises at least one local sound sensor means for sensingambient noise received at said handset and for developing firstelectrical signals indicative of the sensed ambient noise, and signalprocessing means for operating upon said first electrical signals inaccordance with a first processing mode to develop processed firstsignals for application to said internal loudspeaker means in a sensetending to reduce said ambient noise as perceived by a user of thehandset; and wherein the handset further comprises receptor meansadapted to removably receive a connector device for temporarilyconnecting said handset to at least one earphone or headphone havingloudspeaker means directly associated therewith, connection sensor meansfor detecting the connection of said connector device to said receptormeans and at least one further sound sensor means for sensing ambientnoise received at said at least one earphone or headphone and fordeveloping second electrical signals indicative of the ambient noisesensed by said further sound sensor means; the handset comprising meansresponsive to said detection by the connection sensor means for causingsaid processing means to operate upon said second electrical signals inaccordance with a second processing mode, different from the first, todevelop processed second signals for application to the loudspeakermeans associated with said at least one earphone or headphone in a sensetending to reduce said ambient noise as perceived by a user of thehandset with said at least one earphone or headphone.

In preferred embodiments of the invention, the signal processing means,whether operating in the first or the second mode, is provided by aprocessing unit within the handset.

In some preferred embodiments, the said processing unit comprises, or isincorporated within, a central processing unit (CPU) of the handsetitself.

In other preferred embodiments, the said processing unit is separatefrom the handset CPU and comprises a dedicated integrated circuit(digital or analogue), or a discrete analogue circuit.

In still further preferred embodiments of the invention, the handsetincorporates identifier means associated with the connection sensormeans for distinguishing between at least two different types ofearphone or headphone connectable to said handset, and further means forcausing said processing means to operate upon second electrical signalsprovided to the handset in accordance with a processing mode dedicatedto the type of earphone or headphone for the time being identified bysaid identifier means as being connected to said handset.

The identifier means preferably responds to a connector coding appliedto earphones or headphones by their manufacturers.

Preferably, the connector coding comprises a digital numeric coding.

In some preferred embodiments, the handset comprises first and secondrelatively movable portions; the first portion presenting a keypad foruse in operating the cellular telephone and a speech microphone intowhich the user may speak, and the second portion containing the internalloudspeaker means and the local sound sensor means.

In such embodiments it is preferred that the second portion furthercontains a screen to display operating information for said handset.

The second portion may be rendered movable in any convenient manner withrespect to the first portion. In preferred embodiments, however, thefirst and second portions are hinged to one another (“clam-shell”style), to provide a “flip-up” configuration for the handset, or oneportion is slidable with respect to the other to provide a “slider”configuration.

In any event, the local sound sensor means preferably comprises at leastone ambient microphone disposed to receive ambient noise incident uponthe handset. The ambient microphone is preferably mounted internally ofsaid handset and provided with an inlet port through which said ambientnoise can enter.

Further preferably, the siting and/or the configuration of said inletport and/or of an acoustical conduit linking said port to said ambientmicrophone is adapted to render said ambient microphone preferentiallysensitive to said ambient noise rather than the user's speech.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readilycarried into effect, certain embodiments thereof will now be described,by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings ofwhich:

FIG. 1 shows a conventional ambient noise-reduction system, operatingupon the feed-forward principle;

FIG. 2 shows schematically the primary feed-forward transfer functions;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating feed-forward signal connectivity,including a signal processing stage;

FIG. 4 shows a cellular phone construction with a twin-microphoneambient sound sensor means;

FIG. 5 shows an internal noise-reduction scheme for the construction ofFIG. 4 ;

FIG. 6 shows, in block-diagrammatic form, a cellular phone handset inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 7 shows an identification coding technique for permitting differentnoise-reduction protocols to be used with different listening devices.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Existing ambient noise-reduction systems are based on one or the otherof two entirely different basic systems, namely “feedback” and“feed-forward”. These two systems are described in more detail in our UKpatent application GB 2436657A.

The present invention is applicable to both feedback and feed-forwardnoise-reduction systems, but will be described hereinafter in thefeed-forward context, which is depicted in FIG. 1 in its most basicform, without any signal-processing. In the arrangement shown in FIG. 1, the ambient acoustic noise that occurs around an individual who islistening to a listening device in the form of an earphone, orheadphone, (referred to hereafter as an “e/h phone”) 10 is detected byat least one microphone 12 on, or inside, the housing 14 of the e/hphone 10. This signal is electronically inverted in a pre-amplifier andinverter circuit 16 and added, by means of an adding circuit 18, to thedesired e/h phone drive signal (e.g. a music or speech signal which isinput on line 20 and fed to adding circuit 18 by way of a bufferamplifier 22).

This creates a signal for application, via line 24 and a drive amplifier26, to the loudspeaker 28 of the e/h phone 10. The drive signal appliedto the loudspeaker 28 thus includes not only the desired drive componentreceived on line 20, but also a noise reduction component which,ideally, once converted into an acoustical signal by the loudspeaker 28,is equal in magnitude, but opposite in polarity, to the direct incomingambient acoustic noise signal, adjacent to the e/h phone loudspeakeroutlet port within the cavity between the e/h phone shell 14 and theouter ear 30. Consequently, destructive wave interference occurs betweenthe incoming acoustic noise and its inverse, generated via theloudspeaker 28 of the e/h phone 10, such that the ambient acoustic noiselevel perceived by the listener is reduced.

For effective feed-forward ambient noise-reduction, thefrequency-dependent amplitude and phase characteristics of the generatedacoustical reduction signal should closely match those of the incomingambient noise signal at the eardrum of the listener. It has been foundthat surprisingly tight matching tolerances are needed for evenrelatively modest amounts of noise-reduction. For example, if areduction of 65% (−9 dB) is to be achieved, then, assuming perfect phasematching, the amplitude of the generated acoustical reduction signalmust be matched to that of the incoming ambient noise signal within ±3dB. Similarly, even if the amplitudes are perfectly matched, therelative phase of the signals must lie within ±20° (0.35 radian).

However, although the external ambient noise signal is the common sourceof both the directly incoming noise signal at the ear and itssynthesised noise-reduction counterpart supplied by way of components12, 16, 18, 26 and 28, both of these signals are modified considerablyand differently by their respective acoustical and electrical pathwaysto the eardrum. Provided that these differences are not excessive, it ispossible to introduce electronic signal-processing, to compensate forthe differences and re-align the amplitude and phase characteristics ofthe (synthesised) reduction signal sufficiently with those of theincoming ambient noise signal. This signal-processing is convenientlyintroduced as a serial stage 32 in the electronic pathway from the oneor more external microphones 12 to the e/h phone loudspeaker 28, asshown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , wherein features common to FIG. 1 carry thesame reference numbers.

These various primary signal pathways are depicted physically in FIG. 2, and in block schematic form in FIG. 3 . Each signal pathway has arespective transfer function comprising both a frequency-dependentamplitude characteristic and an associated frequency-dependent phasecharacteristic. There are four of these primary transfer functions, asfollows.

1: Ambient-to-Ear [AE]

This represents the acoustical leakage pathway by which external ambientnoise signals reach the ear, and includes transmission around andthrough the ear-pad and e/h phone casing 14.

2: Ambient-to-Microphone(s) [AM]

This represents the acoustoelectric response of the external microphone(or microphones) 12 as deployed in their operational mode, whichincludes local acoustical effects (for example, of the listener's head).

3: Driver-to-Ear [DE]

This represents the electroacoustical couple between the e/h phone'sdriver unit (a small, high-compliance loudspeaker 28) and the eardrum ofthe listener. This is strongly influenced by the nature of theacoustical load that it drives, a key feature of which is the acousticalleakage pathway (item 1, above) between the driver-to-ear cavity and theexternal ambient.

4: Electronic Amplification [A]

This is the electrical transfer function of the amplifier 16. Althoughit is commonplace to provide an amplifier having a “flat” (i.e.relatively constant) amplitude characteristic as a function offrequency, it is usually necessary or convenient in practice toincorporate one or more AC coupling stages, and these behave asfirst-order low-cut (high-pass) filters. It is important to take accountof this.

Knowledge of these transfer functions allows the desired signalprocessing transfer function to be derived. Specifically, the signalprocessing transfer function should be such that the product of theAmbient-to-Microphone(s), the electrical transfer function of theamplifier, the signal processing transfer function, and theDriver-to-Ear transfer function is equal to the inverse of theAmbient-to-Ear transfer function.

Although FIG. 2 shows the sound reaching the ear of the listener throughan earphone, it will be apparent that the same principle applies to thecase where the user is listening through a communications apparatus suchas a cellular phone handset, or a walkie-talkie, or the like.

However, it will also be appreciated from the foregoing that thetransfer functions defined above, and thus the signal processing whichthey demand, will differ significantly between, on the one hand, asituation in which a user listens directly to the in-built loudspeakerof a cell-phone handset and, on the other hand, a situation in which theuser listens through e/h phones. The present invention addresses thatissue, based on the recognition of the tight matching tolerances thatare needed for successful noise reduction.

It is also the case that the derived signal-processing characteristics,being critically dependent on the specific acoustical and electricalproperties of each different e/h phone type, are specific to eachparticular e/h phone system. Different e/h phone types thus ideallyrequire different signal processing parameters, and some embodiments ofthe invention address that issue too.

The present invention thus provides, in one embodiment now to bedescribed, noise reduction circuitry for an apparatus such a cellularphone handset, with means for switching automatically between twodistinct modes of operation—an “Internal” mode and an “External”mode—such that ambient noise-reduction can be provided via transducermeans that are either internal to the handset, or which (as when usinge/h phones) are provided separately and are external to the handset,with the necessary noise-reduction signal processing in each case beingprovided. This noise reduction circuitry can be provided either in thecentral processing unit (CPU) of the handset itself, or, preferably, asa separate, dedicated integrated circuit (digital or analogue), or adiscrete analogue circuit.

As described earlier, recent improvements in multiple-microphone andsignal-processing technology now enable ambient noise-reduction to beincorporated into a cellular phone handset such that ambient noisereduction at the ear of the listener can be achieved. An example of thiswas disclosed for example in our aforementioned UK patent applicationNo. GB 2436657; FIG. 14 of which shows a handset featuring a triplemicrophone array. A two-microphone version of this is shown (by way ofexample only) in FIGS. 4 to 7 hereof, to which reference will now bemade.

In this example, the microphones 40 and 42 (see FIGS. 5 to 7 ) areinternally mounted in the handset, and communicate with the ambientenvironment by way of respective inlet ports, one of which is shown at41 in FIG. 4 ; the site of the inlet port for the other microphone beingindicated by the arrow 43. Thus it will be appreciated that the inletports are symmetrically sited on opposite sides of a “flip-up” portion44 of the hand set 46.

A display screen 45 is also provided on the “flip-up” portion 44 of thehand set 46.

Although FIG. 4 shows one example of possible positions for themicrophone inlet ports 41, 43, other siting arrangements may be made forthe inlet ports if desired, however, and moreover active surfaces of themicrophones 40 and 42 may be directly exposed at a surface of thehandset if desired.

In any event it is preferred that the siting of the microphones 40 and42, and/or the siting and configuration of any inlet ports and/oracoustical conduits linking inlet ports to the microphones are designedto render the microphones 40 and 42 preferentially sensitive to ambientnoise rather than the user's speech.

The two microphones, 40 and 42 are thus arranged to generate a signalrepresentative of the ambient noise incoming to the ear of the user.From that signal, a noise-reduction signal is generated and transmittedfrom the microspeaker outlet port 48, held close to the ear of the user,thus affording a degree of active noise-reduction.

This configuration is shown in block diagrammatic form in FIG. 5 , inwhich signals from the two microphones 40 and 42 on the “flip-up”portion 44 of the handset 46 feed into an interface “A” module 50 whichcontains the necessary microphone-biasing voltage sources and bufferpre-amplifiers for amplifying the low-level microphone signals such thatthey are suitable for driving into subsequent signal-processing stages.Interface “A” module 50 also contains a drive amplifier suitable fordriving the handset microspeaker 28 (sometimes termed “receiver”)adjacent the outlet port 48 which of course, in use, is held close tothe user's ear.

In use, the signals from microphones 40 and 42 are fed via the interface“A” module 50 into an audio processing module 52 that is capable, underthe influence of a controller 54, of implementing varioussignal-processing tasks, such as high- and low-pass filtering, band-passfiltering, level control and the like. The audio processing module 52and controller 54 are incorporated within the handset 44, and can beprovided within the central processing unit (CPU) of the handset, or mayfor example be provided as a separate, dedicated integrated-circuit(digital or analogue), or as a discrete analogue circuit. Afterappropriate signal-processing, the noise-reduction signal is fed to theinternal loudspeaker 28 via the “A” interface 50, thereby generating anacoustic noise-reduction signal at the ear of the user. This mode ofoperation can conveniently be termed the “internal” mode of operation.

Cell-phone handsets are, as has been said, often used with e/h phones,such as in-ear phones, (so-called “ear-buds”), either for reasons ofprivacy or for better signal-to-noise performance, or as part of a“hands-free” arrangement, and, as explained previously, it is an aim ofthe invention to provide ambient noise-reduction for these situations,too. Although it is possible to obtain self-contained noise-reducingear-bud type earphones, these require their own battery supply andelectronic circuitry, thus incurring additional expense for the user,and being bulkier, heavier and less convenient in use. It is thereforeadvantageous to integrate the noise-reduction signal-processing into thehandset unit, using the handset's power supply. This is less bulky, lessexpensive and much more convenient for the user, and simply requiresthat the ear-buds each bear an integral microphone with suitableconnection means.

However, the signal-processing characteristics are critically dependenton the acoustic properties of the ear-bud (or other e/h phone)arrangements, and these parameters very greatly. Differentsignal-processing schemes are required for the internal mode (FIG. 5 )and for ear-bud (or other e/h phone) use (external mode). Indeed,different types of ear-buds (or other e/h phones), having differences intheir acoustical properties owing to differences in their internalvolumes, driver units and acoustical leakages, require differentelectronic signal-processing schemes, featuring different filtercharacteristics.

This example of the invention provides a communications apparatus in theform of a cellular phone handset, which includes automatic switchingmeans for detecting the use of external ear-buds, and for switching thenoise-reduction configuration either to an external mode, when theear-buds are in use, or to an internal mode, when the ear-buds are notin use (i.e. when they are unplugged). This embodiment of the inventionalso provides for detecting and identifying a variety of different typesof external ear-bud, and for automatically switching thesignal-processing into to an appropriate configuration according topre-stored filter characteristics associated with a range of ear-budtypes. Thus a given manufacturer's handset can be used with a range ofear-buds, including those made by other manufacturers, and the user isthereby not restricted to a single ear-bud type.

FIG. 6 shows a simplified block diagram of such a switchingconfiguration, in which, for clarity, the individual signal pathways areshown, rather than all of the individual electrical connections; forexample, the microphone and loudspeaker connections are shown as single,signal pathways rather than electrical pairs. It can be seen that theintegral microphones 40 and 42 and loudspeaker 28 of the handset 46 arestill connected via “A” interface 50 (internal mode). In addition, thereis now provided an external receptor 60, fitted with connector detectionmeans 76, into which external e/h phones comprising, in this example,ear-buds 62, 63 can be plugged, said ear-buds each containing arespective microspeaker 64, 65, and a respective integral microphone 66,67, for detecting ambient noise. The external receptor 60 is connectedto interface “B” 70 (external mode), which contains the necessarymicrophone-biasing voltage sources and buffer pre-amplifiers foramplifying the low-level signals from microphones 66 and 67, such thatthey are suitable for driving into subsequent signal-processing stages.Interface “B” module 70 also contains a two-channel drive amplifiersuitable for driving the ear-bud microspeakers 64 and 65.

Interfaces “A” 50 and “B” 70 are both connected via a bus-selectionswitch 72 to the audio processing module 52, such that the latterreceives signals from, and transmits signals to, either the internal orexternal transducers, determined by control means 74 which is connectedto the external connector-detection means 76, such that when an ear-budconnector is inserted into receptor 60, then interface “B” (externalmode) 70 is selected, and when no connector is inserted into receptor60, the system reverts to select interface “A” (internal mode) 50. Theprocessing implemented by the module 52 is determined either by theinternal processing controller 54 or an external processing controller56, depending upon the control exerted by control means 74 upon asoftware switching system 58; the setting of control means 74 in turnbeing determined by whether or not the external connector 60 is beingused to support connections to e/h phones such as 62, 63. It will thusbe appreciated that different noise-reduction processing is implementedautomatically, depending upon whether the user is employing the internalspeaker 28 of the handset 46, or is instead using external e/h phones62, 63.

The plug-detection means 76 can be implemented in various ways, but oneconvenient technique involves the provision of a connector pin in thereceptor 60, which can be conveniently configured as a handset multi-waysocket; the connector pin being connected to a “pull-up” resistor (i.e.biased to a power supply voltage source via a current-limitingresistor), and arranging that a corresponding conductor in a multi-wayplug connector, adapted for insertion into the multi-way socket ofreceptor 60, is connected to electrical ground, such that when the plugis inserted into the multi-way socket, the voltage on the connector pinbecomes “low” (0 V), rather than its default “high” value (the powersupply voltage). This voltage change is then detected by the controllermodule, which then: (a) selects the appropriate (internal or external)interface for connection to the audio processing module; and (b) selectsthe appropriate signal-processing scheme. The latter can be implementedeither as a software switch, where a digital signal-processing means isprovided, or as a hardware switch or switches, where an analoguesignal-processing scheme is used.

FIG. 6 shows the noise reduction circuitry having the interface “A” 50,the interface “B” 70, the audio processing module 52, the internalprocessing controller 54, the external processing controller 56, thesoftware switching system 58, the bus-selection switch 72, and thecontrol means 74 as separate components. However, some or all of thesecomponents can conveniently be provided in a single integrated circuit.For example, the noise reduction circuitry can be provided in the formof an integrated circuit with a first input, for connection to themicrophones 40, 42, and a corresponding output for connection to thespeaker 28; and a second input, for connection to the microphones 66,67, and a corresponding output for the speakers 64, 65. The integratedcircuit can then receive an input, for example from the socket detectionblock 76, for determining whether a microphone is connected to thesecond input.

In this case, the noise reduction circuitry is adapted to generate anoise cancellation signal by applying a first transfer function to thesignals received from the first input when it is determined that nomicrophone is connected to the second input, and is adapted to generatea noise cancellation signal by applying a second transfer function tothe signals received from the microphone connected to the second inputwhen it is determined that such a second microphone is connected to thesecond input. The second transfer function is different from the firsttransfer function.

As described above, it is also advantageous (though not essential) toprovide the option to cope with a variety of differing ear-bud or othere/h phone types. The signal-processing characteristics for a range ofdiffering e/h phone types can be stored as preset parameters within thehandset, such that the actual type of e/h phone in use can be identifiedmechanically and/or electronically and the appropriate signal-processingparameters selected for use with them.

Such an identification procedure is shown in FIG. 7 , which depicts apair of noise-reducing ear-buds 62, 63, each bearing a microspeaker 64,65 respectively, and a microphone 66, 67 respectively, and which isshown plugged in to the multi-way socket comprising connector 60 of thehandset 46. The identification is, in this example, achieved byproviding several dedicated conductors to serve as a digital binarycoding byte, in which the individual conductors are connected to groundaccording to their code number, and used with a “pull-up” detectionarrangement similar to that described above.

For example, pins 3, 4 and 5 of connector 60 serve this function in thearrangement of FIG. 7 , in which pin 3 represents the most significantbit (MSB) and pin 5 represents the least significant bit (LSB) of a3-bit binary word. It is shown that pins 4 and 5 are grounded, thuscorresponding to the decimal number 4 (binary 100), and hence when thisplug is inserted into the connector 60, the controller means selectsExternal mode, and also the signal processing scheme for ear-bud Type 4(of 8). The default ear-bud processing scheme is initially set to bethat of the ear-buds which are supplied with the handset, but can bereset to another choice by the user.

In this illustrated embodiment, the identification mechanism allows theear-buds to be identified by a distinguishing device provided on acellular phone handset. However, the same mechanism would allow theear-buds, or other listening device, to be identified by any apparatus(for example, a portable music player) to which they are connected.

The identification mechanism may identify the listening device as aparticular model, or may identify the listening device less precisely,for example as a member of a group of listening devices havingparticular characteristics that require a particular noise reductiontransfer function.

As an alternative, the signal processing scheme may be user selectableor user adjustable. In this case, a user interface may be provided bymeans of the display screen 45, allowing the user to select a desiredinput by means of keys or via a touch screen, or in any other convenientway.

Thus, when using a listening device, in the form of headphones,earphones or earbuds, or the like, which may be connected by means of aplug and socket arrangement or via a short-range wireless connectionsuch as Bluetooth or another such protocol, the user may select asuitable noise reduction transfer function. The user may be able toselect one available noise reduction transfer function that differs fromthe noise reduction transfer function that has been designed for usewith the microphone(s) and speaker(s) of the handset apparatus itself.Alternatively, the user may be able to select from multiple availablenoise reduction transfer functions, each of which is suitable for usewith a particular model or class of listening device.

Additional user enhancements can be used in conjunction with theswitching scheme, as have been disclosed previously, including the useof user-selectable noise-reduction transfer functions, for use indifferent ambient noise conditions, such as on a train, or on anaeroplane. Moreover, the ambient noise-reduction effect may be faded upand down according to various external stimuli, as described in GB2436657, such as excessive ambient noise (above a threshold level), thedetection of music playback, and also physical head-movement of thelistener. A valuable enhancement for cell-phone usage is theincorporation of noise-reduction level management triggered by anincoming telephone call, such that if, during music playback viaear-buds with ambient noise-reduction switched on, an incoming calloccurs, it triggers a sequence in which the noise-reduction fades downso as to make the user more aware of the external world, thuscontributing to the alerting function.

Further, the noise reduction transfer function may be adjustable by theuser. For example, it is known that components such as microphones andspeakers in apparatus such as cellular phone handsets have relativelywide tolerances, and thus the optimum noise reduction transfer functioncan vary quite markedly from one apparatus to another. In order toprovide the best possible noise reduction performance for suchapparatus, the user interface described above may allow the user toselect or adjust a noise reduction transfer function.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments illustraterather than limit the invention, and that those skilled in the art willbe able to design many alternative embodiments without departing fromthe scope of the appended claims. The word “comprising” does not excludethe presence of elements or steps other than those listed in a claim,“a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality, and a single feature or otherunit may fulfil the functions of several units recited in the claims.Any reference signs in the claims shall not be construed so as to limittheir scope.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a host device; and alistening device that is wirelessly couplable to the host device,wherein the system comprises: noise reduction circuitry configured forgenerating a noise cancellation signal, and wherein the system isconfigured to adjust a level of the noise cancellation signal inresponse to occurrence of a system event during audio playback via thelistening device with noise cancellation switched on, wherein a systemevent comprises an event arising within the system that causes thesystem to generate an alert for alerting a user of the system.
 2. Asystem according to claim 1, wherein the system is configured to reducethe level of the noise cancellation signal in response to the systemevent.
 3. A system according to claim 1, wherein the noise reductioncircuitry is configured to apply a noise reduction transfer function toa signal generated by a microphone of the listening device.
 4. A systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the host device comprises an audioprocessing module.
 5. A system according to claim 4, wherein the audioprocessing module is configured to act as a source of a desired drivesignal to be applied to a loudspeaker of the listening device.
 6. Asystem according to claim 1, wherein the noise reduction circuitry isprovided in the host device.
 7. A system according to claim 1, whereinthe host device is a communications apparatus.
 8. A system according toclaim 7, wherein the host device is a mobile phone handset.
 9. A systemaccording to claim 7, wherein the system event is an incoming call tothe host device.
 10. A system according to claim 1, wherein thelistening device comprises a pair of ear buds, each comprising at leastone first microphone and at least one first loudspeaker.